Human rights watchdog the Council of Europe has urged governments to "firmly oppose" the teaching of creationism as a scientific discipline.

MPs on the Council's Parliamentary Assembly, meeting in Strasbourg, voted 48-25 against giving creationism the same status in education as the theory of evolution.

The 318 MPs from national parliaments represent the Council's 47 member states, which include all 27 EU countries.

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They approved a resolution which declared: "If we are not careful, creationism could become a threat to human rights."

It went on: "The prime target of present-day creationists, most of whom are Christian or Muslim, is education.

"Creationists are bent on ensuring that their ideas are included in the school science syllabus. Creationism cannot, however, lay claim to being a scientific discipline."

Anne Brasseur, a former Luxembourg education minister, who authored a Council of Europe report on creationism, commented: "It is not a matter of opposing belief and science, but it is necessary to prevent belief from opposing science."

The MPs' resolution said there was "a real risk of a serious confusion" being introduced into children's minds between conviction or belief and science: "The theory of evolution has nothing to do with divine revelation but is built on facts.

"Intelligent design, presented in a more subtle way, seeks to portray its approach as scientific, and therein lies the danger."

The resolution said concern was growing because creationism, once almost exclusively an American phenomenon, was affecting "quite a few" Council of Europe member states.